Take me off the heat, please!

I want to pose an important question about being a lawyer, but first I'd like to share a little about my background and why I am considering law school.

I have a M.S. in mechanical engineering and have been employed for 2 years in a large aerospace company. In that time I have had to listen daily to the most unbelievable amount of complaining and self-pitying drivel from the other engineers. Only a small minority seem even content with their position in life, and this makes dealing with these people a deplorable task that is faced 5 mornings a week. On top of this, the work is mainly tedious and frustrating with only rare moments of intellectual challenge or excitement. To add a final bit of motivation for change, I am one out of several thousand engineers at the company who are considered interchangeable by management. That makes it very hard to distinguish myself in any way. I have previously worked at a couple of other companies and the environments were similar.

I'd like to work among people who are at the job they really want to be at. It would also be nice to have assignments that are difficult once in a while.

I am considering law school in part because I feel that I have the ability to argue persuasively and to do detailed and accurate work. I am especially considering the field of litigation because I perform much better when motivated by competition. Also, it seems reasonable that in a smaller law firm, one might have good exposure to partners and customers, and more opportunity for professional advancement.

Can anyone tell me if the profession, on average, has the qualities that I'm looking for?

I realize that every field has a lot of variability. My real concerns come from reading about very low levels of job satisfaction among lawyers. That makes me think that in moving from engineering to law I'd only be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. I'd really appreciate any of your personal perspectives on this. Thanks.

You need to decide if being with law your whole life suits you. There is a very low satisfaction rate among new lawyers becasue they did not contemplate the field they just took the LSAT and aced it then assumbed based on their score they should and would apply. They get accepted to first tier law schools just to realize at graduation they don't want to be a lawyer hence are unsatified after the fact. My advice to you is to pursue what makes you happy not what makes you money or popularity. You only live life once.